Kambi hopeful new clients can help to offset impact of DraftKings departure
CEO Kristian Nylén says the supplier is confident of signing both tier-one and tier-two operators in Europe and the Americas, with Canada picked out as a key target market
Kambi will be able to navigate the departure of DraftKings from its partner portfolio by onboarding more tier-one and tier-two operators across Europe and the Americas, according to CEO Kristian Nylén.
Speaking to EGR following the firm’s Q2 2021 results, Nylén once again reaffirmed his opposition to operators moving their sports betting tech in-house, citing a lower quality product and high financial costs as his core reasons.
However, Nylén said he was confident the supplier would be able to offset the impact of DraftKings’ migration to in-house provider SBTech, citing a potential pipeline of new clients in both the Americas and Europe.
He told EGR: “I think there is an opportunity for us to have both tier one and tier-two customers. Obviously, there are less tier-one customers now, but I’ve said it all along I don’t think there will be many [operators] who can afford to do a great sports betting product in-house.
“I think many of the ones trying now are really underestimating the effort it takes. We have more interest from operators in Europe at the moment who are starting to understand that their existing in-house sportsbook is maybe not in the best place for them being successful,” he added.
The Americas represented 58% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Q2, while Europe accounted for 40%. Total revenue for the quarter increased by 189% year-on-year to €42.8m.
Nylén picked out Canada in particular as a key target market for Kambi moving forward after the federal ban on single-game sports betting was lifted, enabling future regulation on a province-by-province basis.
“There are obviously discussions going on,” said Nylén. “Quite a few of our existing partners in both Europe and the US are looking at Canada, and there some very interesting local opportunities too.
“Ontario looks like it will be the same size as some of the most important states in the US, so it [Canada] is definitely a big market,” he added.
Kambi’s Q2 2021 report noted that the supplier’s revenue could increase to between €400m and €600m by 2026, based on an estimated total addressable market (TAM) of €44bn and €63bn and an assumed market share of 15%.